chapter five

**POV: Cassandra**

“Quickly, can’t you see she’s in pain?” the doctor said, noticing my pale face and clenched jaw from the pain.

The nurse immediately injected my arm with the needle, and after a long time, the morphine began to take effect, but the relief was temporary and insufficient. Days passed quickly, and I had been trapped in that dungeon for more than seven days. The remnants of the placenta still hadn’t been expelled completely, and I could die from an infection at any moment. The pack’s doctor wanted to perform an emergency intervention, but Emily, as usual, sabotaged every plan to make me suffer. She made a point of having sex every night with Sebastian in our room, preventing any attempts at nighttime surgery and intensifying my pain to the point where I could only survive on strong painkillers like morphine. As if being beaten every time she slept with him wasn’t enough, she also made a point of taunting me daily.

“I’m sorry, Luna, but I can only give you another injection in four hours,” the nurse said with a sad look. I nodded, forcing a smile, but my body was on the brink of collapse. They did everything they could to keep me alive, even with the limited resources we had. I had reached a state where even morphine couldn’t completely relieve my pain.

I was isolated in a separate wing of the pack house, thanks to Emily’s absurd lies. My food portions had been drastically reduced. My stomach growled incessantly, and weakness overtook every muscle in my body. The nurse, recognizing the severity of the situation, frequently administered intravenous fluids to prevent anemia and dehydration.

The doctor, desperate, sought ways to keep me stable, knowing that without surgery, I wouldn’t survive much longer. “Cassandra, I need you to hold on a little longer,” he said, his voice full of concern. “I’m doing everything I can to find a solution.”

The nurse, always by my side, did her best to alleviate my pain, even if only temporarily. “You’re stronger than you think, Luna,” she whispered, holding my hand.

I was still a bit unconscious when Amber burst in, shouting.

“Luna Cassandra, wake up! Wake up! The pack is under attack!” Amber shook me vigorously until I regained consciousness, unlocking the dungeon door and helping me support one of my arms on hers.

The doctor and nurse quickly gathered their things and disappeared down the dark corridor, seeking some underground shelter.

“Where are we going? Where are the beta and the Alpha?” I asked, confused, trying to orient myself, blinking a few times to fully regain consciousness.

“There’s no time for that, Luna. We need to get to a shelter. This is our chance to escape now that the damn enemy Alpha has invaded the pack. Sebastian will be too busy trying to contain the attack. I heard that the eastern border has been completely breached, and they’ve already penetrated our territory. Let’s go! We have to be quick!” Amber said, helping me find the secret passage leading to an underground shelter where several people, including women and children, were hiding.

As we ran through the dark tunnel toward the shelter, a sense of urgency grew in my chest. Suddenly, a wave of terror crossed my mind when I received a mental link: all the warriors at the eastern border had been taken down. Sebastian and the beta were returning to protect the northwest territory and evacuate everyone to a safe location.

“Amber, we need to go even faster! They’re coming this way!” I shouted, quickening my pace as I sensed the enemies' proximity. We couldn’t afford to be captured now.

“Don’t worry, Luna. Once we cross the border, the Alpha’s command won’t be able to reach us. This is a great opportunity for us to escape and find Ursula!” Amber said, holding my hand firmly. Suddenly, I felt my body being pulled back, and the skin on my arm was easily torn away.

In total, five werewolves surrounded us in the tunnel. Amber tried to fight, but one of them pulled her hair hard, forcing her body against the ground and preventing her from breaking free.

“This one is mine!” one of them said, licking his lips. I had heard that many women and children had been taken hostage and others had been killed at the border, but I didn’t imagine they could advance so quickly. Apparently, they used the underground tunnels we built for emergency shelters, but how did they get access to that information?

The strongest of them grabbed me by the collar of my shirt and hurled me forcefully against the wall, shattering it and exposing us to the outside environment where the confrontation was spreading. Immediately, he transformed into a large brown wolf with white stripes and came running toward me, ready to sink his sharp fangs into my neck. I was still motionless on the ground, unable to get up. My wolf, Ruby, was weak; she had used all her energy to heal me in the past few days.

That was when I heard the deep voice of a man wearing a silver mask with black details and polished, waterproof iron armor. “Don’t touch her; she’s mine!” he said only once, and everyone around him backed away, fearing his authority.

His presence was intimidating, and the werewolves surrounding us hesitated. The masked man approached slowly, his eyes fixed on me. There was something familiar about his gaze, but I was too weak to identify it.

The man approached me with eyes full of anger. From his scent, it was clear he was a high-ranking werewolf. He pointed his spear at my chest, and just as he was about to strike, Alpha Sebastian appeared in his wolf form and broke the spear’s tip with his sharp teeth.

The man smiled cynically. I expected him to transform into a wolf, but he continued fighting Alpha Sebastian in his human form. He grabbed Sebastian’s front legs and pulled them so hard that we heard the cracking of bones breaking while delivering kicks and punches to Sebastian’s body, whose wolf howled in agony.

“Sebastian…” I whispered in disbelief. Sebastian was our Alpha, the strongest of the pack, but he was defeated in seconds. I saw the exact moment when the masked man drew a silver dagger and intended to drive it into Sebastian’s chest.

“Coward, you hide behind that armor!” I murmured angrily as I watched my husband about to die before my eyes.

It was at that moment that the man released Sebastian and walked toward me. His expression changed, becoming angrier than before; I had wounded his pride.

“I’ll let you choose, Alpha Sebastian!” he laughed mockingly. “I’ll keep you alive, but in exchange, your pack will pay tribute to me, and... well... I’ll take one of yours as a permanent slave in my pack. In return, I’ll grant you the longed-for freedom, sparing the rest of these filthy people!” he said arrogantly, grabbing my hair tightly and forcing me to look directly at Sebastian in that situation.

Sebastian, struggling to get up, looked at me, visibly exhausted. The man pulled my hair even harder, causing searing pain while I tasted the bitter humiliation and indignation.

“So, Alpha Sebastian, what will your choice be?” the man insisted, forcing Sebastian to make an impossible decision.

At that moment, one of the invading wolves brought Emily in front of us. She was pale and trembling, her eyes wide with fear. Sebastian looked at Emily, concerned, as one of the men threw her to the ground with force, forcing her to kneel.

With a firm voice and eyes full of pain, Sebastian finally decided, “Take Cassandra as your slave!” he murmured nervously. “I’m sorry, Cassandra, but Emily is pregnant and... I can’t sacrifice our child.” He avoided my gaze, guilt and shame evident on his face.

The man standing beside us smiled maliciously, releasing my hair and pushing me to the ground. “Excellent choice, Alpha. Now we just need to get rid of this!” He pointed to the mark on my neck, and his men grabbed me brutally.

“Reject her!” he ordered angrily, forcing Sebastian to comply.

“I, Sebastian Stones, Alpha of the Crescent Moon Pack, reject you, Cassandra Baker, as my mate and Luna!” he declared seriously. He then handed over the command of the pack to the enemy Alpha. I had no time to process the pain; the man grabbed me again, demanding that I accept the rejection.

“Now, Cassandra, accept your rejection or everyone here will suffer the consequences,” he growled, tightening his grip on my arm.

With a broken heart and no strength to fight, I murmured with a trembling voice, “I, Cassandra Baker, accept your rejection, Sebastian Stones. I renounce my position as wife and Luna of the Crescent Moon Pack.” A tear rolled down my face as I looked directly at Sebastian, who remained serious, holding Emily in his arms. She was trembling with fear now that she was carrying his child, and he would give his life to protect her.

“Smile, Cassandra, now you are mine. You have become the exclusive property of the Cursed Alpha forever. Thank your ex-husband, who handed you over to me without any resistance,” he said, baring his teeth with a victorious smile on his lips.

“You’re the Cursed Alpha?” I asked, surprised to see him in person after only hearing rumors about his appearances.

“The one and only. I am Xavier Blackwoolf, the Cursed Alpha of the Shadow Pack, and you, Luna Cassandra, have just become my slave!” he said seriously, his eyes fixed on me. I trembled with fear, recalling the stories my father used to tell me. Over a year ago, I fled from this man and abandoned everything I had: my family, my identity, my old pack, my friends. And now, this man was here, standing right in front of me. I wondered if he was here for me and to reclaim what was rightfully his.